Brash Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (BRIDES fur BEARS Book 3) Read online

  BRASH BEAR

  By

  Natalie Kristen

  For more books set in Shadow Point

  BRIDES fur BEARS

  Bad Bear (Book 1)

  Brave Bear (Book 2)

  Brash Bear (Book 3)

  GRAY BEARS

  Marrying the Bear (Book 1)

  Loving the Bear (Book 2)

  Mating the Bear (Book 3)

  Tempting the Bear (Book 4)

  Taming the Lion (Book 5)

  Embracing the Lion (Book 6)

  Copyright © 2016 by Natalie Kristen

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are used fictitiously or are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual locales, events, establishments or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About this Book

  Shy, curvy Bella Paige finds herself at a rowdy, wildly exuberant wedding. Having just moved to the small town of Shadow Point, she doesn't really know anyone and frankly, she's a little overwhelmed.

  More comfortable around books than people, Bella ducks behind a potted plant, seeking refuge from the madness.

  But of course that backfires.

  When the bride tosses her bridal bouquet, the bouquet sails over the heads of all the single, screaming ladies and lands, yep, you guessed it—right in Bella's hands.

  Joshua Carlan is the best man at his brother's wedding. His two brothers have traded their freedom for the shackles of marriage, and Josh doesn't envy them. Really he doesn't. He's convinced he is better off being single.

  That is, until he sees her.

  A new, unmated female in town always attracts attention. But when another male comes sniffing around that sweet, guarded human woman, all bets are off.

  Can Josh and Bella overcome their differences and fight their demons together or will their past come between them and tear them apart?

  * * * * *

  CHAPTER ONE

  Bella Paige clutched her wine glass and inched further back against the wall. In a state of mild panic and bewilderment, she stared around the vast, crowded, noisy ballroom. She honestly didn't know what she was doing here.

  I hardly know the bride and groom. How in the world did I get invited to this wedding?

  Bella blew out a breath and drained her glass. She glanced around the rowdy ballroom and caught sight of Staci Castillo.

  Oh right. It wasn't the bride and groom who had invited her. She didn't even know Jax and Serena, and it was their wedding. It was Staci, her financial consultant, who had extended the invitation to her and made her promise to come.

  Bella winced. There were only a handful of people she knew in this small town so far. Her next door neighbor, Celia, her new colleagues and her financial consultant. And she had only gotten to know Staci because she had walked into the bank to apply for a loan.

  She had just moved to Shadow Point about a week ago. She had secured a job at the local library and bought a house even before she'd set foot in Shadow Point. Her house was really a fixer-upper, but she had managed to snag it at a really low price. It was a roof over her head, but there was still a lot of work to be done before it could be called a home. Which was why she had walked into the bank to apply for that renovation loan.

  Bella put her glass down on a nearby table and pressed her back against the wall. Warily, she studied the people around her. Shadow Point was a small town with more paranormal than human inhabitants. No one batted an eyelid when someone sprouted fur or fangs, as long as it wasn't in aggression.

  Despite the diverse makeup of its population—Shadow Point had shifters, vampires, witches, fae, a young demon and even the odd angel who much preferred not to reveal his celestial pedigree—the small town was quiet and low key.

  And from what she could see, the town was pretty close-knit but the residents weren't close-minded. The townspeople weren't suspicious or wary of newcomers. Instead, most of them were very warm and welcoming.

  Bella couldn't help smiling as she watched the children chasing one another around the spacious ballroom. Squealing children were chasing one another with icing on their faces, and some of the younger kids had shifted into their animal forms and wriggled out of their little tuxedos. A lion cub wrestled with a furry bear cub, happily ignoring their exasperated mothers who were trying to pull them apart.

  Bella saw Staci laughing and whispering to her husband, Marcus Beck. Marcus was the big brother of the groom, and he had walked the bride down the aisle earlier. He was a mountain of a man, and it wasn't hard to tell that Marcus and his two brothers were bear shifters.

  The twins, Jax and Joshua Carlan, were Marcus's adopted brothers, Staci had told her. The two young men looked alike but Bella had no difficulty telling them apart. Joshua was the older, taller, and gruffer twin. He was his brother's best man today, and Bella had to admit to herself that she had been ogling the best man almost the whole evening.

  She just couldn't help herself. In a room full of brawny, handsome males—paranormal males were insanely good-looking, Bella found her eyes moving of their own accord to Joshua time and again.

  Joshua Carlan was tall, broad, dark-haired with intense, deep brown eyes. He was certainly a very good-looking young man. Young, being the operative word. He was in his mid to late twenties at most.

  Bella smirked. She could safely ogle him, maybe even fantasize about him when she was alone in her bed tonight. She would probably never get to talk to him any way.

  But even if she ever got to know him, there was no way she would fall for a younger man.

  Been there, done that. For her folly, she had been burned good and proper.

  She wasn't going to make the same mistake. Once was quite enough, thank you very much. Younger men were nothing but trouble.

  CHAPTER TWO

  As two giggling elderly ladies came rushing towards her, Bella involuntarily scooted nearer to the large, leafy potted plant in the corner.

  The two little grandmothers looked kind and friendly, yet Bella moved to hide from them. She didn't know why she did that. It was just an instinctive reaction. She wasn't good in social situations, and people sometimes overwhelmed her. She was thirty-five years old, for God's sake. She knew she should be more confident, outgoing and assertive. She often wished she could be extroverted and exciting, like the other girls. Instead, she was just bookish and boring.

  Her job as a librarian suited her to a tee, but it also meant she interacted more with books than with people. That wasn't a problem for her, but some people found it to be a problem. And they made it sound like the problem was her. Like she was some sort of weirdo. That was what her ex-husband said when she caught him with another woman. He needed a real, normal woman, not a weird, frigid old maid who buried herself in books, he'd scoffed.

  Bella made herself part of the wall as she watched the two little old ladies dive gleefully behind the rustling potted plant. She recognized them. She'd heard people calling them Gramma and Ne-ma, and those two grandmothers were the life of the party. They were bubbly, bawdy and full of energy and enthusiasm.

  A few seconds later, Gramma and Ne-ma emerged triumphantly with the bride and groom. Jax and Serena had been trying to hide from the madness of their wedding to ste
al a kiss behind the plant.

  “Well done, Gramma, Ne-ma! You found her!” someone yelled jubilantly.

  “Yep! Here's our bride! She's behind that big plant all along but she can't hide from us!”

  “Come on, ladies! Gather round!” Ne-ma hollered. “The bride's going to toss the bouquet!”

  Bella felt a hand on her arm and saw Gramma at her side. Gramma was the one with those fashionable pink and blue streaks in her silver hair. “Come! You're single, right?” Gramma asked, peering curiously at her.

  “Divorced,” Bella blurted out.

  Gramma grinned. “Yep. Single!”

  Bella protested weakly as Gramma dragged her to the crowd of excited single ladies gathered behind the bride. “Try and catch the bouquet,” Gramma instructed before she hurried to the front of the jostling group. Bella watched Gramma and Ne-ma elbow each other as they got into position.

  The bride glanced over her shoulder and winked at them. Laughing, Serena tossed the bouquet high in the air.

  The ladies shrieked and screamed in excitement as they all leaped up and reached for the bouquet at the same time.

  Bella tried to get out of the way as all the women made a frenzied grab for the bouquet. Bodies collided, arms jerked and tangled, beer was spilled and someone lost a shoe.

  Gramma and Ne-ma swore loudly as they both jumped up at the same time and banged their heads together. But they didn't catch the bouquet. The bridal bouquet tumbled and sailed over all their heads.

  Gramma and Ne-ma brought a dozen ladies down with them as they collapsed on the floor, cursing and chortling at once.

  Bella backed away from the confusion and chaos, and tried to get out of everyone's way.

  Her eyes rounded in alarm when she saw a red-faced, panting lady careening towards a side table.

  Bella reached out to steady the poor woman.

  She lurched forward and something plopped into her outstretched, upturned hands.

  Amid the ruckus, applause broke out and people cheered.

  Bella had caught the bridal bouquet.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Joshua Carlan watched the single ladies of Shadow Point go crazy when his sister-in-law threw her bouquet. This was his baby brother's special day. They were twins but Jax was the younger twin, the baby of the family.

  Joshua was really happy for his brother. The guy had found his true mate, and he had even gotten a lively, lovable daughter. Jax had become the proud father of Serena's five-year-old daughter, Ashley.

  A mate and a family. That was what Joshua wanted too. But...he knew himself and his fate. He and Jax might be twins, but he didn't have his brother's easy-going nature and cheerful disposition. He was rough and brash, and he got into brawls way too often. He had to work on his temper, and he was in no position to take a mate when there was still work to be done on himself.

  He was a work in progress. He had to learn to control his moods and his temper. He still lashed out at anyone who told him that what happened to his mother and brother wasn't his fault. What the hell did they know?

  He was the older twin, the elder son. And he had failed to protect his mother and his brother. His mother was dead, and his twin was now deaf in one ear. And it was his bloody fault. He had failed them.

  So yeah, maybe he didn't deserve a family. Because he sure as hell couldn't protect the one he had.

  Joshua shook away his sudden anger and reminded himself sternly that he was not to ruin his brother's wedding in any way. Jax could tell his moods with just one glance. There was nothing he could hide from his twin.

  Jax was laughing with Ashley as they watched the unfolding madness before them. The ladies were tripping over themselves and spinning all over the place as they rushed to catch the bouquet.

  Gramma and Ne-ma had already brought half the pack down with them, but at least a third of the ladies at the back were still standing.

  Joshua surveyed the scene with amusement and his eyes casually tracked the path of the bouquet, which was sailing gracefully over the women's heads.

  He smirked in approval. It was a good throw. He flashed Serena the thumbs-up and saw her grin and clap in delight.

  “She caught it! Woohoo!” Serena jumped up and down and pointed. Ashley ran to Serena's side and took her mother's hand excitedly. Joshua turned and saw a pretty redhead standing in the middle of the ballroom holding the bridal bouquet. She was holding the bouquet stiffly away from her as if the flowers were going to explode any time.

  Her large, gray eyes were rounded in shock. She looked around helplessly and gulped.

  “Oh...this...I...” she sputtered.

  The women began to clap and crowd round her, blocking her from his view. Joshua heard a growl, and only realized that the sound came from him when Marcus and Jax turned to him with raised brows.

  “What?” he demanded.

  “Nothing,” Marcus said with a straight face. “Her name is Bella,” Marcus supplied, as the corner of his mouth quirked up. “She's one of Staci's clients.”

  “Oh yes, Staci told me. She said Bella's new in town and she doesn't know anyone, so it would be nice for her to come to the wedding and mingle,” Jax added helpfully. “She bought that old house two streets from ours. You know, the one that was on sale forever.”

  Joshua's eyes widened in surprise and alarm. “You mean that rickety house with the crooked roof?”

  Marcus and Jax nodded.

  “She's staying in that house?” Joshua gaped.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Alone,” Marcus emphasized slyly.

  “That house will come crumbling down around her ears!” Joshua snapped. His bear growled agitatedly at the thought of the beautiful, red-haired woman in danger.

  “Let's go over and talk to her,” Jax said eagerly. “Staci introduced her to Serena and me earlier, but I didn't think of recommending our services to her at the time. The lady deserves the best, don't you think? And no one does repair and remodeling work better than Beck's Builders,” Jax finished rather pompously.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Jax strode forward a few paces determinedly before turning to jerk his head at Joshua. “Come on. What are you waiting for?” he barked.

  “You're the groom, so you're the boss. For today,” Joshua said, walking after his smirking twin.

  Marcus chuckled and ambled after them.

  Joshua growled at his brothers. His big brother and little brother were giving him funny looks, and he had the feeling they knew something he didn't. But they weren't sharing the joke with him.

  The three brothers plowed through the mass of giggling, hysterical women and finally reached the shell-shocked woman.

  A dozen witches had their arms around her and were gleefully snapping wefies. They were being photobombed by Gramma and Ne-ma who were leaping up behind them to pull faces with impeccable timing.

  “Hi, Bella,” Jax said smoothly, coming up to her. “Nice catch.”

  “Uh, thank you,” she stuttered, as the witches took one last picture and kissed her resoundingly on both cheeks. A few witches winked at Joshua and propositioned him before their buddies came to drag them towards the beer table.

  The leering, lusty females left Marcus and Jax alone. He was the only single guy among the three brothers now, so the females focused all their charms and attention on him. Well, lucky him, he supposed.

  But at this moment, Joshua wanted the attention of the only female he hadn't yet been introduced to.

  “I'm Joshua Carlan. I think you've already met Marcus and Jax,” Joshua said, stepping forward to offer his hand. “I'm the brother of the groom.”

  She smiled. “I'm pleased to meet you, Joshua. I'm Bella Paige.” Bella's voice was soft but she had a firm handshake.

  Bella smiled awkwardly when the wedding photographer came and snapped a photo of her chatting with the groom and his brothers.

  She wasn't being unfriendly but she was terribly shy and s
he wasn't comfortable with the attention, Joshua realized.

  “We heard that you've bought Mr Naidu's old house, so we...” Joshua began.

  “Oh, Serena and Ashley are beckoning us over,” Jax said suddenly. “No, not you, Josh. We are leaving, but you are staying,” Jax said, giving Joshua a long, meaningful look.

  Turning to Bella, Jax smiled and said, “Joshua will stay and chat with you. Feel free to ask him anything. Anything at all. He'll tell you all about the town, the work we do, where to get the best steaks...he's the guy you want.”

  Jax excused himself smoothly and dragged Marcus away.

  Marcus grinned and winked at Joshua. He didn't even have to say a word. Marcus often said in mock exasperation that the twins did all the talking for the three of them.

  Marcus was a good big brother. He wasn't biologically related to them, but he was their big brother in every way that mattered.

  Joshua turned to glare at his brothers but they had already disappeared.

  Bella fidgeted and kept glancing at the door. She looked like she wanted to make a quick getaway but didn't know how to politely extricate herself.

  “It's a wonderful wedding...but I think I need to leave soon,” she mumbled.

  “I'm about to leave too,” Joshua said. “I'll give you a ride home.”

  She began to shake her head, but Joshua took her hand and led her gently towards the buffet table.

  “Have some food before you go,” he urged.

  “It's okay...”

  “Have a bite at least,” he insisted with a growl. He didn't know why he wanted to feed her so bad. He just wanted to take care of her and make sure she didn't go hungry.

  She looked startled at the sound of his feral growl. Sucking in a breath, Joshua said quickly, “I don't bite.”